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Old 31st Aug 2014, 07:03
  #47 (permalink)  
Oktas8
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
Location: Australia
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Ah now yr right, I was just yanking your chain a little.

But I will explain why I mocked your posts on this thread. Bit rude. Sorry about that. FWIW, no-one is mocking your grammar. Let he who is without sin throw the first stone, and all that.

Wake turbulence doesn't extend 10km downwind of a wind turbine, any more than it extends 33,000' below a large helicopter. Some say you can hear wind turbines 10km away, although having experience with them myself, I doubt it.

Wind turbines are not motored in light winds. Why on earth would they be? Perhaps they are during installation testing. But not routinely. They do routinely use grid power to revolve the entire head, to face into wind. This effort more than pays for itself in the next wind gust.

I have been caught out in bad weather, although fortunately I did something about it before having to descend below 500', or penetrate a marked danger area / dangerous area. (Luck or good training? I claim no superior innate skill, either way.) We trained our pilots to climb at Vy, wings level, in IMC, rather than flying below 500' due weather. Paperwork afterwards, naturally...

I've also routinely flown below MSA at night, VFR, legally. I did not fly in the vicinity of wind turbines. Good training, from others wiser than I.

Possibly the temptation to scud run is less when your CAA will prosecute for any breach of the low flying rules, weather being no excuse. It certainly sharpens the mind as a junior pilot tempted to cut a corner or two. Food for thought for Australia perhaps.

Wind turbines are here to stay, whether we like them or not. Too much invested in them to do otherwise, at least until nuclear fusion becomes practical! They are a blight on the natural landscape, it's true, but so are most "civilised" structures. Do we think coal & oil are going to get cheaper? But wind power will. For example, research is proceeding on how to build a large generator without using expensive rare earths. As an investor in Lynas Corp, I hope they fail. But they will succeed, I'm sure.

Hope this post generates more light than heat.
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